Mixing device



F. J. MUENCH MIXING DEVICE July 11, 1939.

Filed Dec. 1, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 v JNVENIUR.

imme/v July 11, '1939. J. MUENCH 2,165,568

MIXING DEVICE Filed Dec. 1, 1937 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Maw ?6- 26 i 2; 2 L 20 23 I?! TL. J. 5 h 3 if E 4 v U 'l J Mil 14 10 27 z? I INVENTOR. 12 1 15 13 W' F. J. MUENCH MIXING DEVICE July 11, 1939.

Filed Dec. 1, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN IUR.

Patented July 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MIXING DEVICE.

Frank J. Muench, Newark, N. J.

Application December 1,1937, Serial No. 177,403

2 Claims. (01. 259109) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in mixing devices and has particular reference to a device in which thick, gummy substances may be thoroughly mixed such as the discarded films from cameras and motion picture machines after the silver deposit has been removed.

In such mixing the material is often lumpy and when run through a machine having a H) series of fixed and rotary blades it takes large amounts of power to drive the device until the lumps have been reduced. This is due to the fact that the blades being closely adjacent each other meet considerable resistance from the lumpy thick material and it is almostimpossible to drive the rotary blades through the mixture.

It has been found however according to this invention that if a certain amount of yielding relative movement between the blades is allowed 0 when undue material resistance is encountered that the machine will operate with much lower amounts of power to efiiciently drive it.

It is therefore an object of this invention to permit thick gummy and lumpy material to be r mixed with not more than ordinary amounts of power.

It is a further object to permit such material to be thoroughly mixed'without slowing up the process.

It is further an object of the invention to provide simple means whereby thedegree of yield in the blades to the thick lumpy material may .be regulated according to the thickness and lumpy nature of the material.

Further and more specific objects, features and advantages will more clearly appear from a consideration of the specification hereinafter when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification.

In general the invention comprises a casing in which is disposed a series of mixing blades and these are so'related that some or all of them at will may be caused to yield in their relative position when undue material resistance is encountered.

In some forms of the invention the movable blades mounted on a rotatable shaft are permitted to yield and in other forms of the invention the normally fixed blades mounted within the casing are permitted to yield. These blades may be permitted to yield either singly or en masse as the case may and the circumstances may demand.

The invention is illustrated in the drawings which set forth several preferred forms which the invention may assume and in these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the preferred form of the device; V

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a verticallongitudinal section of device;

Fig. 4 is a partial plan View thereof;

Fig. 5 is a partial cross section through the device;

Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section through a modified form of the invention;

Fig. '7 is a cross section through the device shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a vertical longitudinal section through a still further modification of the device; and,

Fig. 9 is a partial cross section through the device shown in Fig. 8.

the

As shown in the drawings especially with refer- "l ence to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the preferred form of the invention is applied to a mixer comprising a casing I0,.having a filling and discharge chute ll supported on pedestal members 52 and I3 forming part of the supporting frame for thed machine. The casing is provided with a rack l4 engaged by an exterior worm IE on a shaft l6 operatable by a handle ll to permit the casing to be dumped at will.

The device is driven through power pulleys I8 by belt 19, shaft '2Ei',.spur gear 2| meshing with gear 22 mounted on shaft 23 extending into the casing H).

An auxiliary shaft 2d is supported in suitable journals in the top of the casing and on one endis connected to an arm 25 to which a spring 26 is connected and fastened at the other end to the frame of the machine.

A plurality of blades 21 are mounted on the shaft 23 within the casing l6 and are held inplace by side bracing plates 28 as shown. A plurality of mixing blades 23 are also mounted on the auxiliary shaft 24 and held in position by means of bracing side plates 36. In normal operation the blades 21 rotate with the shaft 23 and the blades 29 are fixed on the shaft 24 and extend into the casing and lie closely adjacent the rotary blades 21, and in this manner are adapted to give a thorough mixing to any material placed in the casing. If the material is too thick or also very lumpy it is obvious that great power will be required to move the rotary blades.

However it will be seen that the blades 29 being mounted on shaft 24 will be permitted to yield a predetermined amount by reason of the fact that the shaft 24 is oscillatable in its bearings and can swing against the resistance of the spring 29 connected to arm 25 connected to the outer end of the shaft 24. Therefore when the material in the casing being mixed is very thick or lumpy and the material resistance gets too high these blades will yield and allow the material to pass much more easily and with less resistance until gradually the material is mixed down to a fineness where the normal power can handle it in the usual manner. It will also be noted that the lower ends of the fixed blades 29 are pointed as at 3| and are bent at right angles to their length and the point is disposed in the direction from which the material comes to the blades 29. These pointed ends as they are dragged over the lumps will also tend to break them up and thus decrease the resistance to the passage of the material through the device. It will be seen that in this form of the invention therefore the normally fixed blades are provided for yielding when undue material resistance is encountered and that the rotary blades perform their usual functions.

In the modification of the invention shown in Figs. 6- and 7, the construction is such that the rotary blades 36 on the rotary shaft 23 are the ones which yield when undue material resistance is encountered. This result is achieved by providing plates such as 32 rotatable with the shaft 23, and to these plates are fastened frame members 33 on which are mounted short stub shafts 34. The blades 36 are assembled in a unit and held in place with respect to the frame members 33 by means of side bracing plates 35. Springs 31 extend between the plates 32 and at least one of the blades 36 and permit the blades to pivot around the stub shafts 34 when undue material resistance is encountered. A stop pin 38 is disposed on the plates 32 to fix the normal position of the blade unit with respect to the plates 32 when the operation of the device is normal. When undue material resistance is encountered the material causes the blades 36 to yield against the resistance of springs 37 so that the power required to operate the device is reduced momentarily and the material is thereby gradually reduced in size without requiring large increases of power necessary to drive the machine. In this case the fixed blades 29 are fastened to the casing I9 and have the usual pointed ends as above described. However, in this form, the blades 36 yield all together as a unit.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 8 and 9 the rotary blades 4! are adapted to yield when undue material resistance is encountered but in this form the blades yield individually and not as a unit. This result is obtained by providing a frame plate or head 39, which is fixed to rotate with the shaft 23, and has a plurality of arms 49 disposed thereon on opposite sides thereof, which arms are disposed adjacent each of to operate the device.

the blades 4|. Between each arm 40 and its adjacent blade 4| extends a spring 43. The blades 4| are pivotally mounted on the frame member 39 at 42 as shown and therefore will individually yield when undue material resistance is encountered. The blades 29 as before are fixed to the casing I and have their lower ends pointed as above described.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a device in which a plurality of fixed and rotatable blades are adapted to be closely associated to thoroughly mix thick gummy and lump material and in which certain of the blades will yield properly when undue material resistance is encountered to permit a normal amount of power It is also obvious that means have been provided whereby any one or more of the blades may be allowed to yield whether they are the normally stationary blades or the normally rotatable blades. By means of these various arrangements therefore the thick gummy and lumpy material is mixed thoroughly and efi'iciently with power units which are normal and which, except for this invention, would be unable at all to operate the machine.

While the invention has been described in detail and with respect to the specification and drawings which illustrate various preferred forms and modifications, it is to be understood that it is not'limited to the particular forms and modifications shown and described since the invention in its broadest aspect may include other forms and modifications than those shown. Therefore it is to be understood that the invention is only limited in its scope by the breadth or scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A mixing device which comprises a casing, a

' rotary shaft therein, a plurality of blades fixed on said rotary shaft, an auxiliary shaft supported in the casing, a plurality of blades on said auxil iary shaft having their ends pointed and bent at right angles toward the direction of movement of the material in the casing to the blades, and means on the outside of the casing and connected to the auxiliary shaft to cause the blades mounted thereon to yield in an oscillatory manner when undue material resistance'is encountered.

2. A mixing device which comprises a casing, a rotary shaft therein, a plurality of blades fixed on said rotary shaft, an auxiliary shaft supported in the casing, a plurality of blades on said auxiliary shaft having their ends pointed and bent at right angles toward the direction of movement of the material in'the casing to the blades, an arm on the outside of the casing and connected to the auxiliary shaftg'and resilient means connected to said arm to permit it and the blades on said auxiliary shaft to swing and yield in an oscillatory manner when undue material resistance is encountered.

J. MUENCH. 

